Brentford missed out on gatecrashing the Championship top six after they lost 2-0 at Barnsley on Saturday, but Dean Smith insists it must be an incentive for his squad.

Kieffer Moore's deflected cross and Oli McBurnie's goal just before the break, coupled with Derby County's draw with Aston Villa, meant that the Bees can no longer make the top six ahead of the visit of Hull City on the final day of the season.

It's a blow to the Griffin Park outfit, but Smith's side are guaranteed their fourth top ten finish in a row in the Championship since gaining promotion from League One, something which, in itself, is a huge achievement for the side.

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But despite that, the head coach admitted the dressing room was extremely deflated after the game and now wants his team to use the disappointment as an incentive for next season.

He said: “It’s a very deflated dressing room because that is an opportunity gone.

“We will look back all season at games which we lost points. That was another one today.

(Image: Paul Burgman)

"It wasn’t to be but we have to learn from it and move on. It has to be an incentive for everyone. You don’t want the season to finish on that second-half performance that’s for sure.

"We will work this week and hopefully get a really good performance on Sunday.”

The Bees welcome Hull City to Griffin Park on Sunday in the final game of the season, with both sides having nothing to play for, with Hull coming to west London fresh off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City on Saturday.

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